A rail spike (also known as a cut spike or crampon) is a large nail with an offset head to keep railroad rails in gauge. In a rail line, a series of rail spikes secure the rails and a series of base plates to railroad ties located below the rails. Rail spikes are typically driven into the railroad ties with the rail spike body perpendicular to the railroad tie so that the offset head of the rail spike body contacts the base of the rail to hold the rail at a desired location.
In order to remove a rail spike from a railroad tie, tools such as a spike claw puller have been employed. A spike claw puller is a rail spike removal tool that engages the offset head of a rail spike and exerts an upward force on the head to pull the rail spike from the railroad tie. While previous spike claw pullers have been partially effective in the removal of rail spikes, previous spike claw pullers often have difficulty engaging the offset head of the rail spike and, thus, may not remove certain rail spikes in a spike pulling operation. In addition, previous spike claw pullers may partially engage the offset head of the rail spike, oftentimes tearing, shearing or otherwise breaking the offset head of the rail spike and leaving the remainder of the rail spike lodged in the rail tie.